Italy: Kidney transplants into the world's first spleen position

Italian doctors have successfully performed kidney transplants into the spleen position of a 6-year-old girl. This is considered the first medical achievement in the world for kidney transplantation in the position of the patient's spleen.

The notice of Molinette Hospital in Turin said that the 6-year-old patient had previously had hemodialysis since birth due to rare defects in the kidney and abnormalities in the abdominal vascular system .

This anonymous girl could not drink water and urinate for the past 6 years.

Molinette Hospital said to create the necessary space for new kidneys, a revolutionary and innovative technique was applied, with the removal of the girl's spleen. The health of the patient is progressing well. She was able to urinate immediately after a kidney transplant and could finally drink water after 6 years.

Previously, in 2014, Italian doctors also conducted kidney transplants for this girl. However, the new kidney does not work at this time due to severe abnormalities of blood vessels in the abdominal wall.

In addition, her immune system reacted strongly to the new kidney. After a period of testing and genetic analysis in many kidney donors, doctors found a kidney donor compatible with her on December 9.

The spleen is considered an important part of the immune system.

However, doctors still face another challenge because this is a rare and serious abnormality of both the kidneys and blood vessels, so it is impossible to transplant kidneys with conventional techniques.

In this case, the doctor must transplant the kidney into the elevated position of the abdomen and create a new connection between the kidney and the blood vessels.

Due to the bold approach of removing the spleen and kidney transplant into the cut-off spleen, located near the ribs, the surgeons connected the newly transplanted kidney to her bladder.

After a few days of special care, the health of the patient is recovering well. She will soon be transferred to follow up at a kidney transplant center in another hospital.

The kidneys are usually transplanted from healthy donors into the body of a patient with paralyzed kidney function. Normally, the kidneys filter waste from the blood and convert them into urine. However, if the kidney transplant is incompatible, it will stop working and as a result the waste may accumulate and this can be fatal.

With this surgery, the doctors removed the girl's spleen - a small organ located on the upper left side of the abdomen to get space for the new kidney.

The spleen is considered an important part of the immune system, however, experts believe that patients may live in a lack of spleen. Patients with a spleen removed can stay healthy because the liver will then help to perform many functions of the spleen.